By Dan Grushkin
Career Training Review Columnist
dan.grushkin@careertrainingreview.com
Has your well of creativity run dry? It's a common problem. Lot's of times in animation school, you'll be assigned a project, either to work on a character or to frame out a short and you won't know how to start. You rev your brain and it sputters before going completely dead. Not to worry.
Unfortunately, creative blocks are part of the creative process. Oftentimes, they stem from the high pressure of feeling like you have to produce a masterpiece on your first try, an admirable desire, but not very realistic. Animation school teaches that half or more of you initial brainstorming produces throw-away ideas. It's that needle in the haystack idea that really gets your creative juices flowing. One way to start churning ideas is by watching cartoons. Find inspiration from the work of professional animators before you.
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Cartoon Network Equals Brain Juice
It's late at night. You have to show your animation school professor your ideas tomorrow at noon and you're drawing a blank. You're lucky enough to live in an age where you can pick up inspiration 24 hours a day. Channels like the Cartoon Network mix the latest in animation hijinks like Sponge Bob Square Pants, with classic Manga or Japanese animation, and even show a lot of the old Tex Avery classics.
Animation School and Learning from the Cartoon Network
Most likely your animation school professors demand that you absorb as much animation as possible. And you probably already have your favorite shows on the Cartoon Network. No one can deny that you can learn a lot from the animation you watch. Some Animators record their favorite cartoons in order to watch them again in slow motion or key in on single frames to learn the tricks of the trade. In any case, the more you watch, the more you'll learn and soon enough your creative ideas will start to flow once more.
About the Author
Dan Grushkin is freelance writer in Brooklyn, New York. He has written about world affairs for Agence France-Presse news wire, various international publications and has contributed to a book on the Middle East crisis. Dan holds a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University.
August 25, 2005
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